With their eyes on repeating as Super Bowl Champs, the Packers didn’t have much P.T. to offer their rookies in 2011. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t find some keepers though. Here is a look at how the rookies did during the regular season in 2011:

22-year old OT Derek Sherrod was the Packers’ first round pick last April. He only played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Packers in 2011 as his season ended early due to a broken leg. Sherrod will be a starter for the Packers in the near future as long as he can stay healthy.

21-year old WR Randall Cobb was picked in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Cobb played in 15 games for the Packers this year in which he caught 25 passes for 375 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc). He made his biggest mark on special teams for the Packers in 2011. Cobb returned 26 punts for 195 yards (11.3 avg) with 1 TD return and he also returned 34 kickoffs for 941 yards (27.7 avg) with 1 TD return this season. Cobb has a huge upside as he will be the best player the Packers picked in this draft.

23-year old RB Alex Green was picked in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Green only played in 4 games for the Packers last year and he carried the ball 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc). He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards for the Packers this year. He missed most of last season due to knee surgery.

22-year old CB Davon House was a 4th round pick of the Packers. He played in 2 games for the Packers this year and he had 1 whole tackle.

23-year old TE D.J. Williams was a 5th round pick last April. He played in 13 games for the Packers this year and he caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg). He also had 2 tackles for the Packers.

24-year old OG Caleb Schlauderaff was a 6th round pick last April. He played in 6 games (1 start) for the Packers this year. Schlauderaff was a nice find for the Packers so late in the draft as he will likely stick around for a while.

22-year old LB D.J. Smith was a 6th round pick of the Packers. He played in all 16 games for the Packers this year and he had 43 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed. Smith could be a starter down the road for the Packers as he was another nice find for Packers’ GM Ted Thompson.

23-year old DE Ricky Elmore was a 6th round pick last April. He was cut by the Packers before the 2011 season began and he wound up with the 49ers. But, he didn’t get into any games for the Niners in 2011.

24-year old TE Ryan Taylor was a 7th round pick of the Packers last April. He played in 15 games for the Packers this year and he caught 1 pass for 4 yards and it was a TD. He also had 7 tackles this year for the Packers.

21-year old DT Lawrence Guy was a 7th round pick last April. He spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List due to a concussion.

GRADE FOR 2011: C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: B

The Packers have lost 22-year old rookie OT Derek Sherrod for the rest of the season due to a broken leg suffered against the Chiefs yesterday.  Sherrod played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Packers this year.  He was a first round pick out of Mississippi State last April.  This is a bad break for the Packers and Sherrod as he was likely going to see a bump in P.T. the last two weeks of the regular season.

23-year old RB Alex Green was a third round pick out of Hawaii last April.  He lasted 4 games for the Packers in which he carried the ball 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for six yards for the Packers this year.  Green is set to undergo season ending surgery on his left knee soon.  This is a bad break for Green, but the Packers should be o.k. without him for now.

A lot of people were wondering why the Packers took 21-year old WR Randall Cobb in the second round of the NFL Draft last April.  But, no one questions the pick now as Cobb is making a huge impact so far this year.  He has played in all 4 games for the Packers so far this year and he has caught 7 passes for 148 yards (21.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also has returned 6 kickoffs for 242 yards (40.3 avg) and 8 punts for 51 yards (6.4 avg) so far this year.  Cobb has touched the ball 21 times for the Packers so far this year and he has 441 yards (110.3 yards per game and 21.0 yards per touch) so far this year.  He is making a huge impact for the Packers this year and they hope he keeps up the good work.

The Packers went into the NFL Draft last April without any glaring needs with allowed them to cherry pick players.  The Packers went offense early in the draft.  In the first round they took OT Derek Sherrod.  It’s always a good idea to protect your franchise QB when you have one, so I liked that pick for the Packers.  WR Randall Cobb and RB Alex Green were the next picks for the Packers and they both have huge upsides as they were good playmakers in college.  TEs D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor will give Rodgers a couple of more targets in the passing game (like Rodgers needs those).  CB Davon House gives the Packers another CB who they will have time to develop.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Green Bay Packers took 21-year old DT Lawrence Guy out of Arizona State with the 233rd overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Guy is 6’5″, 300 pounds.  Guy will need to toughen up if he’s going to make it in the NFL as he got pushed around a lot by double teams in college.  He played in 12 games (all starts) last year at Arizona State and he had 41 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and he batted down two balls.  Guy played in 35 games (31 starts) in his three years with the Sun Devils and he had 122 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, batted down 2 balls, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Guy was projected to get drafted much higher than where the Packers got him, so maybe they have found a diamond in the rough.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Packers have placed Lawrence Guy on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion.

The Green Bay Packers have selected TE Ryan Taylor out of North Carolina with the 218th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Taylor is 6’3″, 254 pounds.  He caught 36 passes for 330 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Tar Heels last year.  That was the only season Taylor caught any passes.  He also had 37 tackles in his four years at North Carolina.  The Packers might use him as more of an H-Back than a TE going forward.  Taylor might also be able to help the Packers on special teams.  Not many draft “experts” had Taylor getting drafted.

 The Green Bay Packers picked 23-year old DE Ricky Elmore out of Arizona with the 197th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Elmore is 6’4″, 255 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  Elmore is a guy who makes plays in the opposing backfield quite often.  He is not a big hitter, as  he’s more of a wrap tackler but he’s very good in pursuit.  It’s isn’t particularly athletic though so he future likely lies at DE instead of linebacker.  Elmore played in 13 games (12 starts) for Arizona last year and he had 49 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, be batted down 1 ball and he forced 1 fumble.  He played in 51 games (34 starts) in his four years at Arizona and he had 128 tackles, 33 tackles for a loss, 25.5 sacks, he batted down 4 balls, forced 3 fumbles and he had 1 fumble recovery.  Elmore has the heart to succeed but time will tell if he has the talent to succeed in the NFL.

The Green Bay Packers selected OLB D.J. Smith  out of Appalachian State with the 186th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 5’11″, 239 pounds and he runs a 4.79 40.  Smith leaves everything on the field and he is a vocal leader who always seems to be around the football.  But, he was playing against small time competition, so who knows if he will be able to handle the jump to the NFL.  Smith played in 13 games (all starts) last year for Appalachian State and he had 144 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, he broke up 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  He played in 56 games (50 starts) in his four years at Appalachian State and he totaled up 525 tackles, 32 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, he broke up 27 passes, had 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and he also forced 2 fumbles.  At the very least, Smith will help out on special teams.  But, if he can handle the jump in competition he might really be able to help out the Packers’ D down the line.

The Packers took OG Caleb Schlauderaff out of Utah with the 179th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Schlauderaff is 6’4″, 302 pounds but he plays upright.  He is a positional blocker who plays too small and he doesn’t get much power into his run blocks.  The Packers’ coaching staff is going to have to really work with Schlauderaff before they trust him on the field.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Utah last year.  He played in 52 games (49 starts) in his four years with the Utes.  Schlauderaff is a project but the Packers will have the luxury of bringing him along slowly.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Packers have dealt Caleb Schlauderaff to the Jets for an undisclosed draft pick.